Published 20:30 IST, February 4th 2021
India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to Nepal, Myanmar, UAE and 14 other nations
So far, India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and 13 other nations with deliveries in CARICOM nations to begin next week.
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India has supplied coronavirus vaccines to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Brazil, Morocco, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Algeria, Kuwait and South Africa till now. These supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic were made under grant amount to 56 lakh doses and commercial supplies amount to over 100 lakh doses. Further, the external supplies of COVID-19 vaccines are an ongoing process and they depend on the availability and domestic requirements. In coming weeks, Indian vaccines are scheduled to reach the CARICOM nations (the Caribbean), Pacific Island States, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and others.
While announcing the program on January 19, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the nation has received several requests for the supply of domestically-produced vaccines from neighbouring nations including key partners. Meanwhile, the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) on February 3 announced that it has signed a deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for a long-term supply of up to 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to around 100 countries. UNICEF said that the deal would allow the agency to access over 1 billion doses of vaccines for approximately $3 a dose that will be distributed worldwide to low- and middle-income countries. The deal is part of the COVAX programme that is being run by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
India Becomes Fastest Country To Reach 4 Mn COVID-19 Vaccination Mark
In another milestone achieved by India in the battle against COVID-19, it became the fastest country in the world to administer 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in just 18 days, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a statement on February 3 hailing the “significant achievement”. Comparing to other nations across the globe who started mass vaccination drives slightly ahead than India, the Health Ministry said “India’s trajectory of leaping across landmarks in its fight against the global pandemic continues.” While the nation achieved reached 4 million vaccinations in 18 days, the United States took 20, Israel took 39 and so did the UK.
Further, as of February 1, India was among the top five nations in terms of COVID-19 vaccine doses that are administered on the people. The Health Ministry said, “India continues to undertake its vaccination drive at a fast pace” and that nation’s “fight against Covid-19 is bringing daily successes on other fronts as well.”
Image credits: The Associated Press
20:30 IST, February 4th 2021